 Sandwich Housing Authority Executive Director Paula Schnepp (from left), Community Development Partnership Executive Director Jay Coburn talk to Matt Pitta from Cape Cod Broadcasting during a recent interview. |
This month, HAC and Community Development Partnership (CDP) are embarking on a new initiative, the Cape Housing Institute, which will help town officials boost the development of affordable housing in their individual communities.
HAC CEO Alisa Galazzi said the institute will give municipal leaders “the tools and language they need to be able to create housing for the workforce and all residents of their community at all income levels.”
The institute is a six-week workshop which began last Tuesday and runs through Thursday, November 16. Sessions will last two hours and take place on the following days and locations: Wednesdays, from 2-4 pm, at the Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS in West Yarmouth; Wednesdays, from 6-8 pm, at the Mashpee Public Library; Thursdays, from 2-4 pm, at the Wellfleet Preservation Hall; and Thursdays, from 7-9 pm, at the Harwich Community Center.
Each week will feature guest speakers who will touch upon specific aspects related to affordable housing development. The topics, from week one to week six, are an introduction to housing; planning and needs assessment; zoning and site selection; financing and development; making the case for affordable housing; and developing an action plan.
The institute’s speakers are Judi Barrett, economic development director for the Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation; attorney Peter Freeman, a partner at the Freeman Law Group in Yarmouth Port; Cape Cod Commission Affordable Housing Specialist Heather Harper; Jennifer Goldson, a certified professional planner and founder of JM Goldson in Boston; Laura Shufelt, assistant director of community assistance for Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP); Kevin Maguire, a development consultant and co-founder of Oxbow Partners; architect Richard Fenuccio, president of Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio & Raber Architects, Inc. in Yarmouth Port; Susan Connelly, director of community assistance at MHP; Maura Tsongas, director of real estate development at Neighborhood of Affordable Housing in Boston; Shelly Goehring, program manager at MHP; and Paula Schnepp, executive director at the Sandwich Housing Authority.
Presenting sponsors for the housing institute are Cape & Islands License Plate Fund; Cape & Islands United Way; Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Trust; Cape Cod Foundation; the Estate of Bernard Kaplan; and Shepley Wood Products. The Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS is serving as a location host for the institute.
